happy Happy HAPPY Anniversary!!!

I called Brian's room this morning and he answered. . . and it sounded like my husband!  He got a little sleep last night and improved dramatically.  He is feeling much better and the fog has lifted.  He was very curious about what happened and my brother filled him in the best he could.  He asked if he could come home today.  He'll stay in the CCU at least another day.  He got to talk to Aubrey on the phone as well.  Today is our anniversary and I think this may be our most memorable and in many ways the best one I'll ever have (maybe not the most fun, but so special.)  God has given me my sweet husband twice now and I am overjoyed.  Thank you for the thoughts and prayers.  I think he may be up for a few more visitors today--especially if it would help you to see him doing so well.

Praising God Tonight!

(This is Julie)  I am filled with thankfulness and relief today.  I was so anxious about this morning--the day the cryo-therapy and the sedation came off.  There were lots of ways this day could have gone and I was fearful, but our God is SO good!  Things couldn't have gone better, today.  Brian woke shortly after the sedation medication was stopped.  He was responding appropriately to commands and recognizing people and opening his eyes the best he could. He was even writing his requests on a tablet of paper and trying to talk. He was very uncomfortable until they took the breathing tube out and stopped cooling his body.  The medical staff was amazed at how quickly he was able to get the respirator removed (a couple hours after waking rather than days!)  

As the day went on and he became increasingly aware and more able to talk.  Everyone is overjoyed at how well he is doing. . . everyone except Brian.  He is just now going through a lot of the emotions that we have been processing for the last couple of days.   He was very sad and discouraged today. His strong fit body is healing remarkably fast and we expect to see continued improvement each day.  Please pray that his spirits are lifted and he begins to see more of the positives that we are all so excited about.  He still doesn't really know what happened, though I think he has pieced together a lot of it.  By the time I left him late this evening, he seemed much more at peace.  We were able to spend some good time together just the two of us.  My brother is staying the night with him.  They called when they were going to bed and Brian had even gotten to eat a little applesauce and some ice chips.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and messages and help with everything.  I feel so much support and love.  I know many people want to help out in some way and I will try to let people know our needs as they arise.  Please don't send flowers to the hospital as they are not allowed in the CCU.  And for those that helped Brian in any way on the soccer field I can never thank you enough--you saved his life.     

Good News

This is Julie’s friend Aundrea, writing with a brief update and good news.

This morning they stopped sedating Brian. As he wakes up, the doctor and nurses are monitoring him closely. They are encouraged by the fact that he is responding appropriately—he wiggled his toes when asked, seems to recognize everyone, makes eye contact, and is trying to talk. However, he is still on a ventilator, which makes it difficult for him to speak. The ventilator should be removed sometime soon. The doctor is positive about his chances for making a full recovery.

Please pray for Brian as he continues the recovery process.

This is Julie's friend, Jenny, updating her blog since she is at the hospital now with Brian. I am going to attempt to summarize what has been happening to the best of my ability after speaking with Julie.

Yesterday during the lunch hour, Brian was playing soccer with co-workers when he collapsed on the soccer field. His heart stopped beating and people began CPR. Someone was able to access a defibrillator right away. The defibrillator was successful on the first try and Brian was then transported to the hospital. They think his heart was stopped for approximately 3 minutes.

At the hospital, they started a 24 hour therapy where they sedated him and cool his body temperature way down in order to prevent his brain from swelling. Around 5 pm tonight, they will begin to warm his body back up and they expect him to wake up sometime tomorrow morning. Brian is stable and they expect a full recovery. The results of the initial cat scan and echo did not show anything abnormal.

Brian will probably be in the hospital for at least a week, but probably not too much more than that if all goes well when he wakes up.

Julie said that God has been providing amazing support for them during this time. A couple of their neighbors have been helping take care of Aubrey and Malakai and have provided rides to the hospital. Brian's coworkers have been very helpful and supportive as well. Brian's parents were in North Carolina and flew back last night when they heard what happened. Julie's mom and brother will get to Houston tonight to be there for support as well.

Please continue to pray for Brian and Julie and I will keep updating this as I hear more.